question for experts

Parents Forum
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<p>I had the longest conversation with my sophomore daughter yesterday that I ever have about college- she is adamant she doesnt want to attend anywhere that is * cold and dark<a href=“we%20live%20in%20Seattle-”>/i</a>
So since her suggestions were California or Australia, and since I know it is very difficult for an average student to attend a school in Ca, I turned to Australia.
Now I see that the exchange rate favors those from US, which is nice since students aren’t eligible for loans- but I was wondering- if she attends college as an international student- is she forgoing any educational benefits she has as an US citizen?
Lifetime Learning tax credits for example- or unsubsidized or subsidized student loans?</p>

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<p>i’m from California and i could probably name a couple schools thats available to her… (sophmore in college?)</p>

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<p>well I answered my own question
an institution only qualifies if they are eligible to participate in an aid program administered by the US dept of Ed.
So I don’t expect St. Andrews, Balliol, U of Melbourne, would qualify- :frowning:
I wonder of those students intent on attending Oxford on another thread realize that?
Eligible Education Institution. An eligible educational institution is an college, university, vocational school, or other post-secondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the Department of Education. It includes virtually all accredited, public, nonprofit, and proprietary (privately owned profit-making) postsecondary institutions. The educational institution should be able to tell you if it is an eligible educational institution.</p>

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<p>no she is a sophomore in high school still- just starting.</p>

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<p>A friend of my son’s attends the University of Queensland. Because the Australian school system is a year longer than ours, she had to wait for her senior year AP test scores to be returned before she was admitted. She submitted those scores after she finished HS and was admitted in mid-July to start in early August. It’s not for the “average student” unless the average student attends community college and applies from there (in which case you could use your tax credits first). </p>

<p>As for private CA schools that accept average students, there are Redlands, Santa Clara University and no doubt many others.</p>

<p>There are also schools in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Schools on the other side of the Cascades and still in Washington–like WSU–have plenty of sunshine.</p>

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<p>chools on the other side of the Cascades and still in Washington–like WSU–have plenty of sunshine.</p>

<p>She also has the criteria that while she realizes it will be best to have a broader based bio degree- she wants opportunities to do marine biology- she is very interested in sharks.
An even more exclusive criteria is she wants ( theoretically) somewhere, where she can do luge- I am hoping that eventually she will be able to channel this into something else- but once she gets interested in something, she is “really” interested.
She has never even done it before- her first time will be this weekend at White Pass- after which she may either decide she is scared to death ( which I don’t expect) or she will demand we move to Lake Placid ;)</p>

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<p>she should try for UCSB or UCSC is she’s interested in marine biology… Those schools aren’t too tough on admissions.</p>

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<p>College of Charleston and University of South Carolina both offer marine biology and excellent weather.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=1854977[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=1854977&lt;/a&gt;
She must realize that her chances to study sharks (or whales, dolphins, and other popular animals) are very, very slim.</p>

<p>That said, I think UNC-Wilmington has a nice blend of sciences and fun that would fit your daughter. The NC mountains aren’t too far away for a weekend ski trip, and the NC coast has wonderful weather. UNCW has a 60:40 female to male ratio, and it’s relatively small (under 10,000 undergrads). As a bonus, it’s extremely well-known in marine biology and operates the only underwater laboratory in the world.</p>

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<p>My nephew spent a semester abroad - in Melbourne. That seems a lot more reasonable to me than 4 years down under if all you are looking for is avoiding cold and dark.</p>

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<p>Maybe Eckerd in Florida? Spiffy marine research facilities. </p>

<p><a href=“Academics - Eckerd College”>Academics - Eckerd College;

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<p>thanks for the suggestions-
I will keep them in mind-
I did see the earlier thread about science specialities and thats why I am encouraging her to get a broader bio degree rather than a marine bio degree.
However her marine science teacher isnt helping
He just returned from a school trip ( for the computer prgram- in the Phillipines- not for marine science) and regaled her with a story about “catching a ride” with a whaleshark. :eek:</p>

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<p>Texas A&M in Galveston’s sole focus is maritime studies. If you go to <a href=“http://www.marinebiology.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.marinebiology.edu</a> their site pops up! Very warm and sunny, but no luge opportunities that I know of! Admissions are not selective for instate, and I don’t think they have many oos kids applying.</p>

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<p>I don’t know if she is going to find many opportunities for luge</p>

<p>I appreciate her interest though- and am tryng to support it- it is even motivating her to think about taking German ( even though her school doesn’t offer it), because it was recommended to her that she would need German or French for grad school in the sciences, and becuase luge is apparently big in Germany ( bigger than here anyway ;)</p>

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<p>When my son came up with a wish list that had mutually exclusive elements, we started focusing on schools that might be good from some or most of the criteria. Kids change a lot at this time of life - maybe thinking of schools on 2 or 3 paths might be helpful.</p>

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<p>Marine biology and luge are a tough combination. Western Washington comes to mind, but no – that’s damp and dark.</p>

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<p>How can you find luge in a place that is NOT cold? (I’d suggest joining the Jamaican bobsledding team, but they train in Wyoming.)</p>

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<p>I have a friend who decided to get a degree in marine biology at the age of 45! She was a business executive who took up scuba and decided to follow her dreams. She did a lot of research and ended up at James Cook University in Queensland. It looks like a beautiful place.</p>

<p>About the college:
<a href=“http://www.jcu.edu.au/theuni/[/url]”>http://www.jcu.edu.au/theuni/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>This is the department:
<a href=“http://isc-jaine.jcu.edu.au/reports/rwservlet[/url]”>http://isc-jaine.jcu.edu.au/reports/rwservlet&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Williams also has a very cool maritime studies program at Mystic Connecticut which accepts students from other colleges. I would think that there would be a chance of fulfilling your daughter’s luge requirement but not her weather wishlist.
<a href=“Williams College”>Williams College;
<a href=“http://www.williams.edu/williamsmystic/[/url]”>http://www.williams.edu/williamsmystic/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>The University of Hawaii has an EXCELLENT marine biology program, both in Oahu and in Hilo. If she goes to Hilo, she can go skiing a few months of the year–if she’s willing to hike up.</p>

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<p>At 15 she probably doesn’t see that it is virtually impossible to find a school where you could do luge plus be in warm sunny enviroment and study marine biology. That’s part of the pleasure of being 15.
I 2nd the developing two separate lists.</p>